C-suites say 'too much technology is idle'
Cost Containment Corner: Clinical asset management
July 19, 2016
By: Jim Salmons
For many hospitals, clinical asset management for thousands of devices remains a frustrating stumbling block on the road to efficiency. Misplaced, lost, recalled or broken equipment can cause major patient flow backlogs, resulting in prolonged stays and otherwise avoidable costs. C-suites are declaring that too much technology is lying idle within their operation.
At the very least, this recognition indicates a widespread disconnect between hospital managers and their clinical assets. However, as insights from asset data solutions become more advanced, administrators are beginning to cultivate an intimate knowledge of their equipment costs, the value of their HTM teams and a view to a healthier bottom line. As HTM departments feel the continuing pressure to become more cost efficient while supporting quality patient care, the data-driven approach to clinical asset management provides four core benefits to help HTM professionals achieve this seemingly elusive goal.
1. Being strategic
What level of service does the equipment require and when? Are there available trained engineers to service the equipment? Is compliance reporting accurate? What machines are coming off contract and when? What equipment will need replacing and when? HTM departments with effective clinical asset management insights drive strategic answers to these types of questions to support their bottom line and quality patient care.
They provide an on-going integrated solution for asset management through service and work order automation, AEM and OEM preventive and corrective maintenance and real-time reporting to manage clinical assets from “inception to retirement.” By capturing their organization’s asset data in a standardized formatting protocol, they maintain a cost-effective centralized repository for tracking and managing all relevant asset information including location, service history, costs, contract and warranty status, as well as full life cycle replacement forecasting.
Importantly, turning this captured data into strategic business insights helps position the value of the HTM department directly to the C-Suite by defining optimized operational processes that result in lower costs and keeping patient flow on track.
2. Optimizing asset deployment
Benchmarking against past equipment performance trends is crucial to planning optimal maintenance plans and strategic capital planning for the future. Accurate benchmarking requires a robust dataset from the proper business intelligence tool to support it. In addition to individual facility data being collected, an ideal asset management data collection process will also be integrated with data from like facilities with a similar asset mix and operational dynamics. Smart benchmarking also allows hospitals to identify important patterns of seasonal device usage and defining population health strategies. During flu season, for example, a hospital may consider increasing the availability of infusion pumps. By aligning preventive maintenance plans to historical patient census flows, an HTM leader becomes a critical participant in strategic planning.
3. Workforce deployment
Effectively deploying resources is key to cost containment. An efficient asset management solution will quickly and easily create and route work orders to the appropriate service engineer. Nurses and other clinicians are able to request service and check the status of existing requests through online service request portals, which immediately notify HTM staff on their mobile devices. Engineers have real-time access to data, enabling them to quickly locate assets, view work orders and tasks, update work order status, materials, labor hours, comments and more.
Additionally, identifying which technicians are trained on what devices and where technical training gaps are further supports cost reduction opportunities, as HTM leaders can plan for the correct resources being available when they are needed. Real-time asset information enables the entire staff to make immediate decisions on how to best manage patient workflows accordingly.
4. Capital planning
Clinical asset management plays a strategic role in capital planning, with asset expenses second only to labor costs. Unfortunately, capital planning is also a source of perpetual anxiety for many executives. All too often, a haze of uncertainty envelops the process of budgeting and allocation. Without historical trends and benchmarking to rely on, emotion can take over. With smart data analysis and the use of customizable reports and dashboards delivered directly to the C-Suite on a regular basis, executives are able to see equipment purely for its use of life and investment costs and apprehension is easily replaced by confident decision-making. Through the lens of measurable data, administrators have the ability to make financial decisions based on insights, and they feel more empowered in their actions.
5. Choosing the right solution to be a change agent
For HTM professionals in search of cost-efficiency, transitioning from utilizing the basics of a CMMS tool to leading a strategic clinical asset management solution that improves both operational and financial performance is paramount.
About the author: Jim Salmons is vice president, Philips Multi-Vendor Services.
For many hospitals, clinical asset management for thousands of devices remains a frustrating stumbling block on the road to efficiency. Misplaced, lost, recalled or broken equipment can cause major patient flow backlogs, resulting in prolonged stays and otherwise avoidable costs. C-suites are declaring that too much technology is lying idle within their operation.
At the very least, this recognition indicates a widespread disconnect between hospital managers and their clinical assets. However, as insights from asset data solutions become more advanced, administrators are beginning to cultivate an intimate knowledge of their equipment costs, the value of their HTM teams and a view to a healthier bottom line. As HTM departments feel the continuing pressure to become more cost efficient while supporting quality patient care, the data-driven approach to clinical asset management provides four core benefits to help HTM professionals achieve this seemingly elusive goal.
1. Being strategic
What level of service does the equipment require and when? Are there available trained engineers to service the equipment? Is compliance reporting accurate? What machines are coming off contract and when? What equipment will need replacing and when? HTM departments with effective clinical asset management insights drive strategic answers to these types of questions to support their bottom line and quality patient care.
They provide an on-going integrated solution for asset management through service and work order automation, AEM and OEM preventive and corrective maintenance and real-time reporting to manage clinical assets from “inception to retirement.” By capturing their organization’s asset data in a standardized formatting protocol, they maintain a cost-effective centralized repository for tracking and managing all relevant asset information including location, service history, costs, contract and warranty status, as well as full life cycle replacement forecasting.
Importantly, turning this captured data into strategic business insights helps position the value of the HTM department directly to the C-Suite by defining optimized operational processes that result in lower costs and keeping patient flow on track.
2. Optimizing asset deployment
Benchmarking against past equipment performance trends is crucial to planning optimal maintenance plans and strategic capital planning for the future. Accurate benchmarking requires a robust dataset from the proper business intelligence tool to support it. In addition to individual facility data being collected, an ideal asset management data collection process will also be integrated with data from like facilities with a similar asset mix and operational dynamics. Smart benchmarking also allows hospitals to identify important patterns of seasonal device usage and defining population health strategies. During flu season, for example, a hospital may consider increasing the availability of infusion pumps. By aligning preventive maintenance plans to historical patient census flows, an HTM leader becomes a critical participant in strategic planning.
3. Workforce deployment
Effectively deploying resources is key to cost containment. An efficient asset management solution will quickly and easily create and route work orders to the appropriate service engineer. Nurses and other clinicians are able to request service and check the status of existing requests through online service request portals, which immediately notify HTM staff on their mobile devices. Engineers have real-time access to data, enabling them to quickly locate assets, view work orders and tasks, update work order status, materials, labor hours, comments and more.
Additionally, identifying which technicians are trained on what devices and where technical training gaps are further supports cost reduction opportunities, as HTM leaders can plan for the correct resources being available when they are needed. Real-time asset information enables the entire staff to make immediate decisions on how to best manage patient workflows accordingly.
4. Capital planning
Clinical asset management plays a strategic role in capital planning, with asset expenses second only to labor costs. Unfortunately, capital planning is also a source of perpetual anxiety for many executives. All too often, a haze of uncertainty envelops the process of budgeting and allocation. Without historical trends and benchmarking to rely on, emotion can take over. With smart data analysis and the use of customizable reports and dashboards delivered directly to the C-Suite on a regular basis, executives are able to see equipment purely for its use of life and investment costs and apprehension is easily replaced by confident decision-making. Through the lens of measurable data, administrators have the ability to make financial decisions based on insights, and they feel more empowered in their actions.
5. Choosing the right solution to be a change agent
For HTM professionals in search of cost-efficiency, transitioning from utilizing the basics of a CMMS tool to leading a strategic clinical asset management solution that improves both operational and financial performance is paramount.
About the author: Jim Salmons is vice president, Philips Multi-Vendor Services.